Posted on 05/11/2010 8:37:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As vote counting continues in the Philippines, all indications are that Liberal Party candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino will become the next president.
With more than half the votes counted by mid-day Tuesday, Aquino holds an almost unassailable lead over his nearest rivals.
Former President Joseph Estrada trails a distant second while businessman Manny Villar has conceded defeat in Monday's election.
An Aquino victory is in line with expectations. The son of former President Cory Aquino, who died last year, led the opinion polls throughout the campaign.
Pete Troilo is director of business intelligence for risk consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments. He says overall the elections were a great success, despite trouble with a new automated voting system and scattered reports of violence.
However, he adds the country still suffers from extrajudicial killings, corruption, poverty, and attempts to muzzle the media, particularly at the local level.
"The question is, now that Noynoy Aquino and whoever his vice president will be have run on platforms of poverty eradication and anti-corruption, will they be able to take the next step to really prove to the voters and to the international community that they're serious about those platitudes," said Troilo.
Aquino's campaign was helped by his parents' legacy. His father, the opposition leader Benigno Senior, was assassinated in 1983. That sparked a people's power revolution, which steered his wife, Cory Aquino, into the presidency three years later. She was widely beloved for her efforts to fight corruption and heal the nation after the fall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
If, as expected, final results confirm Aquino's victory, on June 30th he will replace President Gloria Arroyo, She is legally barred from a second term, but appears likely to win a congressional seat from her home province.
The widow of Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda, also looks set to win a congressional seat, while her son, Ferdinand, is expected to win a Senate seat. Daughter Imee is the leader in the gubernatorial race for their home province, Ilocos Norte.
The Philippines' most famous athlete, international champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, also is expected to win a seat in Congress.
Official results are expected to be announced by the end of the week.
Profile: Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8674853.stm
The man likely to be the next Philippine president, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, has a name fit for the job.
The fate of his father, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, electrified his country when he was assassinated in 1983.
Ninoy Aquino had been in exile in the United States, forced to flee the martial law of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Determined to bring democracy to his country he flew back to Manila only to be killed on landing.
Tens of thousands of people joined the outpouring of grief, fuelling a pro-democracy movement that President Marcos responded to by calling a snap election in February 1986.
Young Noynoy’s mother, Corazon “Cory” Aquino, was the standard-bearer, the “housewife” who accepted the role foisted on her by widowhood and vowed to carry on her husband’s work.
The Marcoses claimed victory - sparking the first famous People Power revolution against them. The million people who gathered on the streets felt they were risking their lives to save democracy.
Cory Aquino became president, going on to survive several coup attempts - one of which resulted in young Noynoy almost being killed in a shoot-out at the presidential Malacanang Palace in 1987.
One of the five bullets that hit him then is still lodged in his neck.
Congress career
Growing up in the shadow of such admired parents, with four sisters - one of whom, Kris, is a prominent TV personality - Noynoy has often been the quiet Aquino.
He earned a degree in economics from the elite Ateneo university in Manila before joining his family in exile in Boston.
On his return to the Philippines after 1983, he worked in various businesses, including the Cojuangco sugar refinery in his home Tarlac province.
He was elected to Congress in 1988, winning re-election in 2001 and 2004. In June 2007 he won a seat in the Senate.
He is said to lack charisma, and did little to stand out in 12 years as a member of Congress and the Senate. But he did serve on a wide range of committees and so is familiar with the issues of governance.
In 2009 his mother died of cancer and again, tens of thousands of Filipinos surged onto the streets to show their love for this family.
Filipinos remain desperate for what his name symbolises - the principles of clean, honest, committed democracy.
But whether the single, 51-year old Noynoy Aquino can cope with the huge pressures of office, conflicts of interests and likely conspiracies against him to actually run his country remains to be seen.
His family name has got him into office. Observers will be watching closely to see where he goes from here.
What is it with people and political dynasties, I don’t get it.
Think George P Bush will run for Prez someday? lol
Well, I was making this observation as well bu defenders of Aquino are arguing that Corazon Aquino was president from 1986 to 1992. There have been 3 elected presidents in between unrelated to the Aquino’s. So, a full 18 years has passed, enough time NOT to call this a dynasty.
IMHO Benigno Aquino is the lest corrupt of the people running
My brother is married to a Filipina and he is the undisputed runaway candidate amongst the masses. The death of Corazon (mother) just pushed the sympathy vote for him.
But the “masses’ tag never works in the longterm. Years ago, actor Joseph estrada won by a landslide but he was dumber than Obowma. Nothing will change because the govt is so corrupt, it makes Chicago look like a fairy tale. Anything there can be had with $$$.
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